CNN's Lou Dobbs opened this
segment by saying this was
a CNN exclusive,something
you wouldn't see anywhere
else. And unfortunately
he was right for the most.
The Jan. 13 broadcast of
CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight"
explored the possibility that
earth isn't warming, but is,
in fact, cooling.
Dobbs cited National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data dating back to 1880which showed a spike in mean temperature over land and ocean. However,Joseph D'Aleo, the executive director of International Climate andEnvironmental Change Assessment Project (ICECAP)questioned that data by comparing it to more modern reliable satellitedata, when ask if he "quibbled" with the NOAA data's representation.
"Yes,I do," D'Aleo replied. "In fact, if you look at the satellite data,which is the most reliable data, the best coverage of the globe - 2008was the 14th coldest in 30 years. That doesn't jive with the tenthwarmest in 159 years in the Hadley data set or 113 or 114 years in theNOAA set."
D'Aleo's organization, ICECAP, is one of 33 groups co-sponsoring The Heartland Institute's 2009 International Conference on Climate Change in New York City March 8-10. D'Aleo also appeared on Dobbs' program on Jan. 5 and said that a lot of the research promoting the theory of anthropogenic or manmade climate change is too short-sighted.
Accordingto D'Aleo, the spike in NOAA climate data is a result of locationchanges where the data is recorded. He contended that with theproportional increase of urban data used versus rural data, the overalleffect was a warming trend.
"Those global data sets arecontaminated by the fact that two-third of the globe's stations droppedout in 1990," D'Aleo added. "Most of them rural and they performed nourban adjustment. And, Lou, you know, your people in your studio knowthat if they live in the suburbs of New York City, it's a lot colder inrural areas than it is in the city. Now we have more urban effect inthose numbers reflecting, that show up in that enhanced or exaggeratedwarming in the global data set."
Another factor contributing to the global cooling period is the decline in sunspot activity according to Jay Lehr, a senior fellow and science director of The Heartland Institute.
"[I]think more importantly it is to look at the sun's output, and in recentyears, we've seen very, very low sunspot activity, and we aredefinitely - in my mind - not only in a cooling period, we're going tobe staying in it for a couple decades," Lehr said.
Lehr saidthe cooling trend was a positive and hoped it would have and impact onlegislators to resist the temptation to pass and sort of climate changeregulation that could further hurt the U.S. economy.
"And I seeit as a major advantage, although I think we will be able to adapt toit, I'm hopeful that this change in the sun's output will put somecommon sense into the legislature - not to pass any dramaticcap-and-trade or carbon tax legislation that will set us in a fardeeper economic hole," Lehr added. "I believe Mr. Obama and hiseconomic team are well placed to dig us out of this recession in thenext 18 months to two years. But, I think if we pass any dramaticlegislation to reduce greenhouse gases, the recession is going to lastquite a few more years and we'll come out of it with a lower standardof living as a result on very tenuous scientific grounds."
Lehrpointed out the "silliness" of not including the sun's impact on theearth's climate - a factor often neglected by many of the globalclimate change alarmist. He also cited CNN meteorologist Chad Myers,who said the theory of manmade global warming was "arrogant" on Dec. 18, 2008.
"Itjust seems silly to not recognize that the earth's climate is driven bythe sun," Lehr said. "Your Chad Myers about a month ago pointed outit's really arrogant for mankind to think he controls the climate orthe universe. Only 4 percent of our greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide.Ninety percent is water vapor which we have no impact over."
Lehrtold Dobbs it would be a mistake to enact policy that was intended toreduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, as Obama'sSecretary of State designate Hillary Clinton suggested to the Senate Foreign Relations committee on Jan. 13 in her confirmation hearing that the incoming Obama administration intended to do.
"And,if we were to try to reduce greenhouse gases with China and Indiacontrolling way more than we do and they have boldly said they are notgoing to cripple their economy by following suit, our impact would haveno change in temperature at all," Lehr added. "In Europe they startedcarbon cap and trade in 2005. They've had no reduction in greenhousegases, but a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in the [cost of] standardof living. We don't want to go that route."
